St. Mary’s Glacier

I finally made it to St. Mary’s Glacier! I’ve been wanting to do this hike for some time as I have heard such nice things about it. The hike, however, is short, so driving there and back actually takes longer than the actual activity, so I suppose that is one reason why I haven’t been. While the hike can be extended to James Peak, a 13,000 foot mountain, it becomes extremely long, so I just hadn’t made the time. Ideally, I think it would be nice for a leisurely morning and lunch in Idaho Springs.

I joined Scott and Belinda’s family who were visiting from the east coast on our short trek. The paid parking is easy to reach and has a decent amount of spots. From the lot, we walked up the road and found the trail on the left. I can’t say the beginning of the hike was that picturesque. We followed several other hikers up a wide, rocky path or road before it eventually turned into a single track.

lake

lake

lake

flowers

flowers

lake

flowers

It is only three-quarters of a mile to the lake that sits below the glacier. We stopped here briefly to watch a few people jump off the cliffs across the way. Then we weaved through a variety of trails to the glacier. The summer flowers were lovely as was the view, but our failure to remember bug spray kept us from remaining idle too long. Those mosquitoes were relentless.

Anyway, it was a nice, somewhat steep walk that I finally got to enjoy! ETB